Interactive fairground ride, in particular roller coaster

Abstract

For the vehicles of an interactive fairground ride, in particular a rollercoaster, control consoles are proposed which are equipped with a control button and a display unit and are assigned to each passenger. These control buttons and, if appropriate, the display units of all the control consoles, are connected by means of a transmitter, by radio or by cable, to an evaluation and control unit which detects the reaction times for all passengers and calculates a mean value, the collective reaction time, therefrom. A signal for starting the vehicle is not generated until after the expiry of the collective reaction time. In a fairground ride of this kind, the emphasis is on the interaction between all the passengers of a vehicle.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An interactive fairground ride, comprising:
 a rail track; 
 a passenger car with seats for several passengers, the car guided on the rail track; 
 a plurality of passenger control panels, wherein the each passenger is provided with a passenger control panel of the plurality of passenger control panels, wherein each passenger control panel comprises:
 a start button; and 
 a display unit; 
 
 a launch pad with a signal unit located at the beginning of the rail track, wherein the signal unit generates one of a visual signal, an acoustic signal, or both a visual and acoustic signal, and 
 an evaluation and control unit; 
 wherein one of the start button, the display unit, or both the start button and the display unit, of the control panel of the plurality of control panels are connected to the evaluation and control unit via a transmitter, wherein the evaluation unit and control unit captures a reaction time of a passenger and calculates one of a mean value, a collective reaction time (t), or both a mean value and a collective reaction time (t), wherein one of the mean value, the collective reaction time (t), or both the mean value and the collective reaction time (t), are displayed by the display unit, and wherein a start signal for the car is generated after an expiry of the collective reaction time (t). 
 
     
     
       2. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the evaluation and control unit determines, based on the collective reaction time (t), a boost factor (B) which influences one of a start time, car speed, or both the start time and the car speed, wherein the boost factor (B) is displayed by the display unit next to the collective reaction time, wherein a collective reaction time (t) of 0 corresponds to a boost factor of 100% and an allowed reaction time (a) corresponds to a boost factor (B) of 0%. 
 
     
     
       3. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 an effect generator communicable coupled to the evaluation and control unit, wherein the effect generator triggers optical, acoustic effects, or both optical and acoustic effects. 
 
     
     
       4. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the boost factor (B) may be determined by the evaluation and control unit in a section of the rail track while the car passes through the section of the rail track. 
 
     
     
       5. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein depending on a boost factor (B), the start time is delayed, the car speed is reduced, or both the start time is delayed and the car speed is reduced. 
 
     
     
       6. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 5 ,
 further comprising a linear connection between the boost factor (B) and the collective reaction time (t), where (a) is an allowed reaction time, according to the formula:
     B  (%)=100(1 −t/a ) 
 
 
     
     
       7. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein timekeeping begins after the start signal is triggered, 
 wherein before the start signal is triggered, a pre-signal is generated, and 
 wherein the start button is activated in such a way that impulses generated by the start button during a period between the pre-signal and the start signal remain unconsidered when determining the reaction time. 
 
     
     
       8. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein apart from the determined collective reaction time (t) and the boost factor (B) of all passengers, an individual reaction time and an individual boost factor of every individual passenger is determined by the evaluation and control unit and displayed during the entire ride by the display. 
 
     
     
       9. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the control panel further comprises a signal light that qualitatively displays determined reaction times. 
 
     
     
       10. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 several rail tracks with their own launch pads are arranged at a small distance to each other. 
 
     
     
       11. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein in the course of the rail tracks, further acceleration tracks with their own drive units are arranged which may be influenced by the passengers by the control button. 
 
     
     
       12. The interactive fairground ride according  claim 1 ,
 wherein a car drive mechanism of the passenger car is a linear motor. 
 
     
     
       13. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 ,
 a signal of the passenger control panel is transmitted to the evaluation and control unit via radio transmission or via bus bars. 
 
     
     
       14. The interactive fairground ride according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the fairground ride collects the reaction times in order to generate a ranking list from the collected reaction times after at least one ride of the car on the rail track. 
 
     
     
       15. An amusement park ride system, comprising:
 a plurality of passenger control panels for a passenger car that is guided on a rail track, wherein each passenger control panel of the plurality of passenger control panels comprises:
 a start button; and 
 a display unit; 
 
 a signal unit located at a beginning of the rail track, wherein the signal unit generates a start signal, and 
 an evaluation and control unit that receives signals of the plurality of passenger control panels, 
 wherein, based on a plurality of passenger reaction times, the evaluation unit and control calculates one of a mean value, a collective reaction time (t), or both a mean value and a collective reaction time (t), 
 wherein one of the mean value, the collective reaction time (t), or both the mean value and the collective reaction time (t), are displayed by the display unit, 
 wherein a start signal for the car is generated after an expiry of the collective reaction time (t); 
 wherein the evaluation and control unit determines, based on the collective reaction time (t), a boost factor (B) which influences one of a start time, passenger car speed, or both the start time and the passenger car speed, 
 wherein the boost factor (B) is displayed by the display unit next to the collective reaction time, wherein a collective reaction time (t) of 0 corresponds to a boost factor of 100% and an allowed reaction time (a) corresponds to a boost factor (B) of 0%. 
 
     
     
       16. The amusement park ride system according to  claim 15 ,
 wherein based on the boost factor (B), the start time is delayed, the car speed is reduced, or both the start time is delayed and the car speed is reduced. 
 
     
     
       17. The amusement park ride system according to  claim 15 ,
 wherein boost factor (B) is determined according to the formula:
     B  (%)=100(1 −t/a ) 
 
 
     
     
       18. The amusement park ride system according to  claim 15 , further comprising:
 an effect generator communicable coupled to the evaluation and control unit, wherein the effect generator triggers optical, acoustic effects, or both optical and acoustic effects; and 
 wherein the control panel further comprises a signal light that qualitatively displays determined reaction times.